A Few Things They Don’t Prepare You For In Seminary

A Few Things They Don’t Prepare You For In Seminary

There are some things they just don’t prepare you for in Seminary.

When I was in Seminary they taught me how to study the scriptures in Greek and Hebrew. They provided instruction on visiting the sick in the hospital. They taught me the difference between theism and deism. I learned to distinguish between immutability, impassibility and impeccability. All very important in the day to day life of the church, of course.

But there were a few things they did not teach me. For instance, what do you do when you are leading a funeral, and members of the family inform you that they have hired armed body guards to be on hand at the cemetery. They never touched on that one. Or, “that one should keep a Solo cup and sizable card stock on hand to capture a small snake in the food pantry office!”

There are many surprises for pastors throughout their career. But one of the things was seldom mentioned was the deep joy I feel when suddenly the scriptures open for a new believer and their lives are changed through an encounter with Jesus.

And you know what, I am glad they did not try to tell me all about that, the joy that serving Jesus with you at times makes my heart skip. There are times when my heart misses a beat for other reasons, but when I see God change a life, give a new direction and open new doors, the snakes in the food pantry and the mice in the potatoes fade to nothing.